There’s a moment that happens in a hot spring at dusk, shoulders drop, breath slows, the day finally lets go. Now imagine that moment set to live saxophone.
This October, that’s exactly what’s on offer. Melbourne International Jazz Festival is stepping outside the city for the first time, taking its program south to the Mornington Peninsula for Jazz at Alba, a three-day residency at Alba Thermal Springs & Spa that turns geothermal bathing into a full sensory event.
It’s a genuinely new kind of festival experience: no crowded laneway bars, no standing-room-only sets. Just native gardens, warm mineral water, a glass of Peninsula wine, and some of Victoria’s sharpest jazz talent playing just metres from the pools.
Alba has spent years building a reputation as one of Victoria’s most restorative wellness escapes, geothermal pools threaded through native bushland, an hour or so from the city but a world away in pace. Pairing that with a festival known for pushing Melbourne’s live jazz scene forward feels less like a marketing tie-up and more like an obvious idea nobody had gotten to yet.
Alba’s Marketing Director, Kadi Morrison, put it simply: they’d been looking for the right partner to bring live music into the spa’s restorative setting, and found it in the festival’s creative energy. Melbourne International Jazz Festival GM Caitlin McNaughton framed it as a chance to extend the festival’s reach to the Peninsula while leaning into what both brands already do best, anchoring themselves as destinations in their own right, not just events.
Translation: this isn’t a stage bolted onto a spa day. It’s a genuine collision of two Victorian icons.
The Lineup
Three days, three distinct sets of sound, all performed lakeside, or rather, poolside.
Thursday 22 October — Holly Moore Trio
5:00pm–5:45pm & 6:30pm–7:15pm
Saxophonist and composer Holly Moore opens the weekend with a sound critics have called commanding and distinctive. She’s joined by guitarist Matt Hoyne and double bassist Robbie Finch for two sets that promise to set the tone for the whole residency.
Friday 23 October — Dean Kalait Trio
5:00pm–5:45pm & 6:30pm–7:15pm
One of the freshest voices in Australian jazz right now, Dean Kalait blends lyricism with an experimental, narrative-driven edge. Backed by Lily Appelt on double bass and Quinn Knight on drums, expect something rawer and more emotive as the sun goes down over the gardens.
Sunday 25 October — Milne and Attiche
2:00pm–2:45pm & 3:30pm–4:15pm
Closing things out on a Sunday afternoon, award-winning vocalist Clancye Milne teams up with German-born guitarist Benjamin Attiche for a set built on feel-good standards and heartfelt originals — the perfect note to end a weekend of soaking and sound on.
How to Experience It
However you choose to take it in, live jazz is included with general bathing admission — so even a straightforward soak comes with a soundtrack.
- General Bathing — from $100, live jazz included
- Cheese & Wine — $145pp, includes bathing, a picnic rug for performances at The Luna, and a reserved table for the restaurant forecourt sets
- Canapés & Wine — $145pp, same inclusions with canapés in place of cheese
Personal pick: grab a picnic rug at The Luna for one of the golden-hour sets, then move poolside as the last light fades. It’s the kind of evening that makes the Peninsula feel like a proper getaway rather than a day trip.
Bookings are open now at albathermalsprings.com.au/jazz — and given this is a first-time collaboration between two of Victoria’s standout names, don’t expect availability to last.
Melbourne International Jazz – Jazz at Alba
Alba Thermal Springs & Spa
282 Browns Road, Fingal VIC 3939, Australia
